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File Name

index.cpd

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Item Description

Title

Issues

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image/jpeg

File Name

yearb_1988_035.jpg

Transcript

FIFTH
AMENDMENT
Many Americans were formerly never
made aware of their enumerated rights,
especially those pertaining to the right of
counsel, numerous persons were therefore unjustly incarcerated, said Irene
Rosenberg.
Due process of law, the right to a
speedy trial; fundamental rights passed
down by word of mouth under saxon ruler in ancient England and protected in
writing by the Bill of Rights which guarantees individual freedom to all Americans, according to Rosenberg, Professor
of Law at UH's law school.
These rights presumed as fundamental by many Americans, are not so fundamental in other countries, said
Rosenberg. Nations like Italy and Turkey
have a system of assumed guilt. A person
is guilty unless proven innocent, and
they can linger in prison for years before
being brought to trial.
The Fifth Amendment reads, "No person shall be held to answer for a capital,
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a
presentment of a grand jury except in
cases arising in land or naval forces, or
in the militia, when in actual service in
time of war or public danger; nor shall be
compelled in any criminal case to be wit
ness against himself, nor be deprived of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use without just compensation."
The Fifth enumerates each right, so as
not to leave anything to question, according to Robert Palmer, Cullen Professor of History and Law at UH.
The need to actually spell out the
rights of individuals is more than Palmer
eluded to. According to Rosenberg many
Americans are not well informed of their
rights and for years many were refused
their most basic rights under the Constitution.
It was the Miranda Decision in the early '60s that stirred up the greatest controversy on the interpretation of the Constitution, said Rosenberg, the Miranda
opened a virtual pandora's box.
The decision guarantees that a person
must be instructed on their individual
rights, and if that is not done before a
confession is solicited then the confession is not valid. The Miranda ruling also
lists the rights the accused has to counsel before questioning begins.
While Fifth Amendment enumerated
rights cover the accusing method of the
suspect, and the right that illegally solicited information and unconditionally
silence can't be used against a person in
a court of law, the Sixth Amendment
rights go one step further.
SIXTH
AMENDMENT
The Sixth reads, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the
right to a speedy and public trial, by an
impartial jury of the state and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed; which district shall have been
previously ascertained by law, and to be
informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation; to be confronted with the
witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in
his favor, and to have the assistance for
his defense."
Rosenberg called the Sixth, "the right
to counsel" amendment. With protection
of an expedient trial, guarantee to an
impartial jury, and right to solicit witnesses enumerated in this amendment;
the strongest point to be noted, said
Rosenberg, "is the right that every person in the United States no matter how
poor or rich has the right to counsel."
Many Americans were formerly never
made aware of their enumerated rights,
especially those pertaining to the right of
counsel, numerous persons were therefore unjustly incarcerated, said
Rosenberg.
OLUMBIA
409
SUPERIOR C
OF TH1
ISTRICT OF CC
BUILDING
40 University of Houston